


Special

by ItsKarla



Series: AaronDingleWeek2020 [5]
Category: Emmerdale, robron
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Bonding, Chas is a witch, M/M, Robert is a wizard, Soulmates, Spells & Enchantments, True Love's Kiss, fairytale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-16
Updated: 2020-10-16
Packaged: 2021-03-09 02:40:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,696
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27037330
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ItsKarla/pseuds/ItsKarla
Summary: “Everyone keeps telling me you’re the bad guy,” he said quietly and lowered his eyes.Everything was so damn confusing, what was real and what not? What was a real memory and what just the result of magic? He sighed and rubbed his forehead.“Do you think I am a bad guy?”“Are you a wizard?” Aaron asked instead of answering.Robert wordlessly held up his hand and it started to glow red. Little sparks were flying between his long fingers. Aaron nodded. A wizard then.“Being a wizard doesn’t automatically mean I’m a bad person,” Robert said with a sad voice and put his hand down. It stopped glowing immediately.———Or my attempt on prompt 5:“Everyone keeps telling me you’re the bad guy.” and/or “You tricked me.”
Relationships: Aaron Dingle/Robert Sugden
Series: AaronDingleWeek2020 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1967143
Comments: 14
Kudos: 69





	Special

**Author's Note:**

> This was fun to write!  
> I love magical AU‘s, supernatural elements and a bit of fantasy.  
> I told you at the beginning of the week that I tried to do something different for every day, so I gave this story a go.
> 
> Fair warning: a boyfriend is mentioned here that isn‘t Robert, but I wasn‘t even arsed to give him a name. His role is explained later in the fic. Robron is endgame, you know me, guys! 
> 
> Hope you like it!

You know that feeling when you wake up on a Saturday, after nine hours of good sleep? That blissful moment when you can snuggle deeper under your blanket, because it’s a day off and right now your bed is the best place on earth? That warm and cozy feeling, being bone-deep relaxed, where you try to chase that lovely dream you had?

Yeah. 

Aaron didn’t feel any of that, when he woke up on this Saturday at 7:32am, staring at the angry red numbers on his alarm clock. Instead his brain was dizzy, like the world was muffled under a layer of cotton wool, his eyes were difficult to focus, blood was rushing in his ears and his mouth was oddly numb. 

It was weird.

_Maybe I’m getting ill. I’ll speak to mum later._

Suddenly there was a hand on his shoulder, softly stroking him. It’s a gesture that should feel good, that should be sweet and loving, that should make his belly warm and squishy. But Aaron involuntarily tensed up, his hackles raised, like out of instinct. The touch felt _wrong._ He turned around and was met with the sleepy face of his boyfriend. 

“Hey,” he got a fond greeting.

His brown hair stood up in messy strands and the brown eyes blinked at him. There was a small smile around his lips. Aaron smiled back and tried to shake off his odd feeling. This was his boyfriend, for heaven’s sake. No need to get weird! 

His boyfriend started shifting closer, obviously in the mood for a morning cuddle, 

_I don’t want this!_

but Aaron’s heart hiccuped and his chest clenched, cutting off his ability to breathe. He quickly jumped out of the bed, that weird feeling still holding him in its tight grip.

“I’ll make breakfast,” he managed out.

He saw his boyfriend’s face falling, but he couldn’t help it. The need to get away from this awkwardness was overwhelming and he more or less stumbled out into the hallway. Every fibre of his body screamed how _wrong_ everything felt, although his brain _knew_ this was just a normal Saturday morning. Only when the door was closed behind him, the pressure on his chest vanished and he sucked in a harsh breath. Aaron stood there for a good minute, trying to process what the hell just happened and why he had reacted like this. 

He went into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face until his skin was red and raw, then he grabbed the edge of the sink and looked into the mirror. 

His blue eyes were bloodshot and he gritted his teeth.

_Get a grip. Stop being paranoid._

It surely was just an infection or something, maybe a bug that weakened his body and made him feel vulnerable and oversensitive. Nothing that his mother couldn’t fix. 

  
  
  


His boyfriend went to help his family on their farm and so Aaron was walking through the little village towards the Woolpack. 

He shouldn’t be relieved that he had to spend the day without his boyfriend… but still. He was. For the first time since he had opened his eyes this morning, Aaron felt the uneasiness slowly disappearing with every step he put between him and his boyfriend. 

As if the distance alone helped. Aaron frowned. 

He heard a loud noise and a curse on his left side and saw Paddy Kirk, the village vet, bending over a ladder, which was laying in his front yard. 

Aaron couldn’t hold back a grin. Paddy was well known for his clumsiness. Seeing that the older man didn’t need his help, he kept on walking.

He passed the small stoney cottages without looking up from the dusty path, crossed the village square with its fireplace where the weekly rituals were being held, until he finally reached his mother’s house. It was the biggest one of the whole village, showing the powerful status she had in their collective.

He opened the door and was immediately hit by the different smells that attended him through his childhood. After Aaron had been walking in bright sunshine, his eyes needed a short moment to adjust to the dim light inside. Herbs and roots, different flowers, hides and furs from animals were hanging from the low ceiling. He always hated the latter, it had given him nightmares as a child and it was still creepy to a certain level, although this was part of his family, a part of his _mother._

Chas stood at a stove, stirring something in a huge pot.

“Hello, luv,” she said without turning around and looking at him. Of course she knew it was him.

“Hello, mother,” he greeted her from the threshold, “may I come in?”

“You may come in.”

Only then Aaron stepped over the dark brown line on the floor. Nobody was able to cross that mark without her explicit permission, not even him, it was one of her most powerful spells which she had perfectioned over the decades. He walked over to her and bowed his head like he’s being taught since he could think.

She finally turned around, paused and looked at him, with her eyes barely visible behind her way-too-long fringe. 

“Stop the formalities. Come here,” Chas smiled and opened her arms.

He hugged her and for a quick moment he imagined deep down how a hug with a _simple_ mother would be like, if it would feel different to a hug with a _special_ mother. But Aaron knew only this mother-son-relationship. His mother was the most powerful _special_ , not only in the village, but in the whole territory in the north and Aaron was just _simple -_ apparently the genes of his useless father were to blame. And his complete childhood was subordinated to this dynamic. 

Chas Dingle spent her time creating potions and medicines, casting spells and holding _special’s_ meetings. Once a week she performed the ritual with the villagers to honor the magic and renew protection spells for the participants. 

She never had had time for him to read a story or go into the woods together or whatever it was that _simple_ mothers did with their children.

“What’s wrong?” she asked him straight away.

Aaron was not surprised she knew something was up. He had to learn early days that he couldn’t have secrets from her. He tried not to hate that fact too much, because she could sense his hate as well.

She could sense any sorts of feelings.

“I don’t know,” he admits and that’s the truth, “I woke up this morning feeling weird.”

She narrowed her eyes and guided him towards a big wooden table in the back and gently pressed him into one of the eight seats. 

“Weird, how?“

Chas sat down at the opposite side of the table and took his hands without waiting for his answer. Her fingers started to glow blue and Aaron felt a low buzz humming through his body. He knew she was checking for his emotions - sensing them was a thing she always did with everybody, on a superficial level - but this, this was like a deep scan, where she could read him like a book. 

Aaron just let it happen, tried to keep his mind blank. The glowing stopped and he let out a quiet breath. 

“I see,“ Chas said, giving him a long look that made him squirm on his chair.

_Is something wrong with me?_

“Do you know what caused… this?“ Aaron asked carefully, not quite sure how to put what happened this morning in words. 

She got up and went to a huge cupboard with loads of little drawers. He would never understand how she could keep track of all the different salves and potions she had in there. It must be hundreds. 

Chas opened one drawer and pulled out a small bottle, then she came back to the table.

It was a green liquid. Aaron eyeballed it.

 _“ex amore cadunt,“_ she whispered, causing the fluid to move and glow inside the glass as if it became alive. 

Suddenly Aaron‘s body felt hot and cold, everything inside him rebelled against the thought of drinking that. His guts started churning and there was this invisible stone on his chest again, just like this morning. It all felt so _wrong,_ it knocked him almost off the chair. 

Chas’ head jolted up to him, because of course she sensed his strong emotion. It came so quickly that Aaron couldn‘t suppress it, it had hit him like a lightning. 

“Aaron?“

“Yeah?“ His voice was just a shaky scratch. 

“Drink this, luv. It‘ll help,“ his mother said, smiling sweetly at him. 

And although his body rebelled with every cell against that green potion, Aaron took the small bottle because his mother ordered it. He just couldn‘t disobey, it was unheard. His hand was shaking.

He just closed his eyes, prayed the medicine would help him get better and drank it.

— — — 

7:32am.

Aaron stared at the watch. That time, that exact situation. 

_I’m having a deja-vu._

Usually a deja-vu was a quick moment - a blink of an eye, where that I-have-seen-this-before-feeling was extremely strong before it vanished in the next second again. This time it was different though, this time-

a hand caressed his shoulder.

_No!_

Aaron looked over his shoulder, his stomach cramping in his belly.

“Hey,“ his boyfriend said sleepily, brown hair standing up in messy strands on his head. 

Aaron went hot and cold. He had seen this before. Exactly this moment, with his boyfriend laying there and greeting him like that. 

It was weird.

He jumped out of the bed, ignored the falling face of his boyfriend and flew out of the bedroom. He forced his body to breathe when he splashed cold water on his skin until it hurt. The odd feeling in his chest stayed though, he couldn‘t wash it off no matter how much he wanted to. Like a tight grip around his body had taken ahold of him, not willing to let go.

_This already happened before._

The aversion to his own boyfriend, the deja-vu - this wasn't normal. It wasn‘t right. Aaron squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. He was going insane. There was no other explanation. 

  
  
  


After his boyfriend went to visit his parents, Aaron left the Mill as well. He walked through the small village, staring at the dusty lane, still thinking about this strange morning. When he walked past Paddy Kirk's house, he saw a movement out of the corner of his eye, causing him to look up. Aaron saw Paddy leaning a ladder against the wall of his house, probably to repair something on his roof, 

_It’ll tip over!_

-then the ladder tipped over and the older man shouted an angry curse. Aaron froze. He had known it would overturn. Right in the moment before it actually happened, he had seen this coming! He stood there, balling his hands to fists, breathing in harsh pants while a sudden adrenaline rush flushed his body. 

There could be only one explanation for this - right? Aaron snapped out of it and ran towards his mother’s house. Right before he reached it, he slowed down to catch his breath and gather his shit together. He sucked the warm summer air into his lungs and looked to his right, where the path left the village and disappeared into the woods. Although the sun was shining, the trees were huge and dark and mysterious.

The woods were always fascinating, Aaron knew there were magical creatures out there, fairies and pixies, gnomes and dwarfs. Sadly he hadn‘t seen them with his own eyes, he wasn‘t allowed to go into the forest without his mother, and when they went, it was never long, because it would be too dangerous for him. He was the son of _Chas Dingle_ after all, she always pointed out.

Aaron had stopped fantasizing about going there and exploring this forbidden world outside the village years ago - there was simply no point. 

Now though… he didn’t even realise he stopped walking, he just stared into the shadows between the trees and felt an irrational urge of going there. 

_Aaron…_

A deep voice, barely audible, like a wisp from the wind. Aaron swirled, scanning every direction for a person who might have called him, but there was no one around. He looked back to the woods, knowing deep down with a sudden clarity, that it had come from there. The woods were calling him. 

This had to be the weirdest day in Aaron‘s life! 

He took a few steps towards the village border, when he heard the familiar clack of an opening door behind him. Aaron turned around and saw the entrance of the Woolpack open as if it was waiting for him, inviting him in. 

His head ordered him to go over to his childhood home, just like he had planned it all along. Talk to his mother, because she would know how to deal with today‘s events.

It was his body who rebelled. The weight on his chest was back, almost crushing him and his heart ached. It ached for the woods. Or what was in the woods, what was calling for him. 

A very long second that felt like hours, Aaron just stood there, on the last crossing of the village between his mother‘s house and the forest, absolutely torn and unable to move. 

In the end his head won, but it was a real close decision. 

Chas stood inside her gloomy magic store and stirred something in a huge pot.

“Hello, mother,” Aaron said quietly, hoping that she wouldn‘t have noticed his little incident on the road, but at the same time knowing that his hope was foolish. Of course she knew. “May I come in?”

“You may come in,” she said without turning around. 

He stepped over the dark line, went over to her and bowed his head.

“You’re emotions are all over the place, luv,” his mother said, turned to him and offered him a hug. “I can feel excitement, but also confusion and worry. What happened?”

She was constantly sensing emotions, it was just something she did naturally all the time with everybody. She had explained it to him like a radio that was just the receiver of different frequencies. Still, he really didn’t like it when she was sensing him. It felt like she was invading his privacy. Not that he ever had much of that anyway with being Chas Dingle‘s first and only child. 

And this brought him back to the present events.

“I think I’m _special_!” he blurted out.

She gave him a quizzical look. “Aaron. We checked if you’re special right after you were born,” Chas sighed, “And, I’m sorry, but… you’re not, luv. Plus, don’t you think if you actually were _special, I_ would know it?” She raised her eyebrows at him and suddenly he was a 6 year old child again, being told off by his mother.

Humiliation swept through his veins, made him feel hot and self-conscious. “But… but all these things happened, and…” he muttered, lost for words.

She gave him a small smile and guided him towards the big table with the eight chairs.

“Tell your mother what happened,” she said, when they sat down. 

“I am having deja-vus… really strong ones,“ he tried to emphasise, to make her see that maybe he _was special!_ Every other explanation could only mean he was losing it. “And a few minutes ago, there was this thing I heard, coming from the woods, as if-”

“The woods?“ she cut him off with an edge in her voice. 

That tone was rare and she eyed him suspiciously. Aaron frowned and got nervous. 

“Yeah. Why? Is that bad?“ he asked.

Chas stood up. “There is a dangerous creature out there that I am trying to deal with.”

“What creature?” That voice he had calling his name - maybe it was that thing in the forest?

“A wizard. He is powerful and uses dark magic. I need you to stay away from the woods, you hear me? It‘s dangerous for you to go there!“ she said sharply.

Aaron swallowed against the huge lump in his throat and his guts twisted. Hearing that his life, and maybe all the lives in the village were at danger, was horrific. He kinda was used to various threats that had been thrown against them as long as Aaron could remember, but seeing his mother this tense and on edge was rather uncommon. And that could only mean it was really, really bad. 

Chas went to her gigantic cupboard and pulled out a little bottle.

“What‘s that?“ Aaron asked with a shaky voice. 

“Maybe that creature put you under some spell and that‘s why you‘re feeling all weird today, luv,“ Chas explained with a voice smooth like honey again. 

She came back and smiled. “This is a potion that shall protect you.“ His mother showed him a green liquid. _“ex amore cadunt,“_ she whispered, causing the fluid to move and glow inside the glass as if it became alive. 

_No, I‘ve seen this before! Don‘t drink it!_

“Drink this, luv.“

Chas brown eyes locked on him and before Aaron could process what was happening, his arm moved, he took the potion and downed it.

— — — 

The watch said 7:32 and Aaron knew his boyfriend would touch his shoulder one second before the hand actually laid on his skin. 

A fond “Hey!“ was followed by a quick escape. 

It was wrong, it was cold water in his face and it was still all _wrong!_

_This happened before! You‘ve done this before!_

Aaron didn‘t understand what was going on. He couldn‘t actually _remember_ any of it, not with his mind at least, but he kinda _felt_ it with every cell of his body. It was the strongest deja-vu he ever had, like a constant unsettling buzz. 

  
  
  


He had known that his boyfriend would spend the day on his parents farm, he had heard the words in his head, before his boyfriend even opened his mouth to inform him. 

Aaron walked through the village and though the logic told him to go to his mother and ask for her help and advice, his hackles raised at the mere thought. And there was this pain in his chest, like a spike that was tugged into his flesh and pulled.

_The ladder._

The thought hit him out of nowhere and he looked up from the dusty road to see Paddy Kirk fighting a battle with his ladder. He tried to lean it against his house, probably to get onto the roof to repair something. Aaron saw the sudden image of it flipping over in front of his inner eye and he knew it was going to happen, like he had known about the touch of his boyfriend. He just _knew_ it. 

“Be careful with that ladder,” he shouted out of instinct across the front yard.

Paddy gave him a surprised look. “Thanks Aaron,” he said and carefully corrected the stand of the ladder. 

It didn’t fall over.

The house of his mother appeared in his view, it was huge and overshadowing the smaller cottages around. A shiver ran down Aaron’s spine despite the warm summer sun that was burning on his black shirt and a wave of nausea forced him to stop and bend over. He felt sick. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to breathe the sickness away. 

_Aaron…_

Someone was calling him. He straightened up and looked around, but there was no one except Paddy, who had just climbed the first steps.

“Did you say something, Paddy?” he asked.

“What?” the other man turned so quickly on the ladder that he almost fell down, “no, I haven’t!”

Aaron swallowed and then his gaze went to the small path next to Paddy’s house. A path that led into the forest. The tug in his heart pulled again, pulled into the direction of the trees so hard he almost tripped over his own feet as he stumbled forward. 

_Aaron…_

The voice was louder this time. He left the main village road and took a few steps on the tiny track.

“Aaron, where are you going?” he heard Paddy asking him. He sounded worried. “We aren’t allowed to go into the woods, there is a dangerous wizard out there!”

Aaron laughed bitterly - because he _knew_ that already, didn’t he?! _Somebody_ had told him that before, but he couldn’t remember who or when it was. Maybe he was going insane, because he was being warned about the danger and still his feet moved slowly towards the forest edge. It was like his body moved on its own will, giving in to the overwhelming pull in his chest. 

_Aaron…_

The voice was deep and smooth and Aaron loved how it sounded. It sounded oddly familiar, although it didn’t belong to any of the villagers, he was pretty sure about that now. 

“Aaron!” Paddy shouted behind him.

He didn’t care. Aaron had to go, otherwise it would drive him insane. 

The answer to why this day was so damn weird and why everything felt wrong, was out there, hidden in the trees. It was a certainty. 

The shadows of the forest swallowed him and the temperature dropped immediately. Aaron came to a halt. He scanned the trees, tried to listen if that voice would call him again. All his senses were sharpened and focused, but the only thing he heard was his own shallow and quick breath.

No birds, no rustling, no cracking branches. Just nothing. He didn’t see animals either. 

“I’m telling Chas, Aaron! Come back or I’m telling Chas!” Aaron heard Paddy’s voice. 

Aaron tensed up and started running, deeper into the forest. A hysterical laughter left his mouth, because damn, was he in trouble when his mother was going to find out. He had never disobeyed her like this, hadn’t even dared to think about going against her will.

But still.

Still.

He _had to_ go there, it was like his body was on autopilot now. Aaron ran without really knowing in which direction, he just followed that _pull,_ causing his legs to get faster and faster-

Suddenly he went through something. It was nothing he had seen coming, he just felt it, it was like running through a waterfall. But like… an _airfall._

_I’m losing it, I’m going insane._

Aaron lost balance and tripped over his feet. His shoulder hit the ground first, but the earth was covered with moss and it attenuated his tumble. Finally he ended on his back and just stayed there, breathing harshly. His legs were like jelly and his lungs were on fire after that stunt he’d just pulled, but the adrenaline rushing through his veins made him lightheaded and giddy. 

A loud shriek made him flinch and Aaron stumbled to get back on his feet, ready to run away from a possible danger, but it was just a bird, he realised.

A bird.

There were birds. He heard their wingbeats, singing and somewhere a pecker was knocking like a machine gun. The sounds of the woods were back and so was the warmth of the summer air. The shadows weren’t that dark anymore, everything was brighter. 

And then he noticed something else. The pain in his chest was gone, as well as the nausea and that constant buzz of everything being wrong. Aaron just felt like… himself. 

He sobbed in relief, only realising now how overpowering that weird feeling had been.

“Aaron.”

His head flew around to the voice. It was _the_ voice, that one that had been calling his name. 

A man stood five feet away from him, smiling at him.

“You came!“ he said with a soft sigh. 

The guy had blond hair, reaching his ears, tucked messily behind them. His face was the most beautiful thing Aaron had ever seen. And he remembered that he had seen that man before, somewhere, but he couldn’t quite place it. 

“Do I know you?” he asked and raised his chin.

All he knew was that this stranger could not be trusted. Paddy-

_and someone else! Someone else said this as well!_

-had said, there was a wizard in the woods. If this was the wizard, he could have cast a spell on Aaron to confuse his mind. That would explain why he had experienced a day from hell so far. 

The guy’s hopeful smile fell and he looked so sad and broken that Aaron could feel his own heart cracking.

_Where have I seen him before?!_

His brain was so useless, because it came up blank. Just blank. 

The man slumped down to the ground let his shoulders drop. 

“She gave you a potion, didn’t she?” he said bitterly.

Aaron instantly got that he referred to Chas and out of reflex he wanted to defend his mother, wanted to tell him that no, she didn’t gave him anything, but-

_It was green. A green fluid._

It was like the air got knocked out of his chest. His mother had handed him something of her magic cupboard. He remembered it now, remembered a small bottle with a potion, to protect him, she had said. Against the dangerous creature in the forest.

He stumbled backwards. “Who are you?” he whispered.

“I’m Robert.”

The name hit Aaron like a bullet in his head, he pressed the balls of his hands on his eyes and almost doubled over.  
  


_Robert_

_Let’s meet behind David’s shop at midnight_

_I can’t tell my mother it’s too soon_

_She found out, Robert!_

_She’s coming for you!_

Small fragments lit up behind his closed eyelids, moments, emotions. Aaron let out a pained scream, because his brain felt like exploding. 

Then he felt strong hands on his shoulders, trying to hold him up, to stabilise him. He was thankful for that touch and wasn’t that fucking ironic? This morning his _boyfriend_ touched him and it freaked him out to a level where he thought he was going insane. And now this stranger touched him and it felt _right._

It felt right.

And this wasn’t a stranger. Robert was someone he had known, before he was being forced to forget him. His own mother had done something to him to make him forget. His knees gave out and he slid slowly to the ground, Robert gently helped him to sit.

“Do you remember me?” the deep, soothing voice reached his ears.

“I don’t know. There are… bits!” Aaron croaked out raspily. He took a shaky breath and blinked his eyes open. 

Robert sat next to him and he was so close that Aaron could see his long, blond lashes and the depth of his green-blue eyes that also had some tiny brown dots. Robert looked with so much affection and warmth at him that Aaron’s heart stuttered.

“Everyone keeps telling me you’re the bad guy,” he said quietly and lowered his eyes. 

Everything was so damn confusing, what was real and what not? What was a real memory and what just the result of magic? He sighed and rubbed his forehead. 

“Do you think I am a bad guy?” 

“Are you a wizard?” Aaron asked instead of answering.

Robert wordlessly held up his hand and it started to glow red. Little sparks were flying between his long fingers. Aaron nodded. A wizard then.

“Being a wizard doesn’t automatically mean I’m a bad person,” Robert said with a sad voice and put his hand down. It stopped glowing immediately. 

Fair enough. Aaron went silent for a moment, then he said: “You‘re not a bad person.“ That was the truth. He swallowed, Robert‘s intense look was almost too much. “But why does my mother think you are a danger?“

He couldn‘t believe she would cast some spell on him that made him _forget._ How could she betray him like that - his own mother - it was hard to get his head around that. 

“Tell me what happened,“ he begged Robert. 

“I moved into the village about a year ago,“ Robert said with a sigh and Aaron gasped. 

One year. She took a whole year of his memories. 

“Chas wasn‘t much amused,“ Robert continued, “because she knew I was a wizard and she didn‘t want another _special_ in her village. So I promised her to keep a low profile, but then…” he chuckled, “I met you and you changed everything.“

The smile Robert gave him, released hundreds of butterflies in Aaron‘s stomach. He felt the skin of his face heating up. More memories came back, flooded his brain, stolen kisses under the moonlight, secret meetings in the barn.

_I love you, Aaron_

_I love you too_

He thought about his boyfriend and felt awful. The cheating behind his back went on for months. Aaron sighed. He was a terrible person.

“We decided to keep it a secret and everything was fine…” Robert grimaced, “until she found out.“

“What did she do?“

“The short version? She forced me to leave, cast a spell over the village that makes it impossible for me to come back and drugged you with a potion, obviously.“

Aaron rubbed his face again. It was so much to take in, his brain and emotions were thrown into complete chaos. 

“But why would she do that?“ Aaron asked miserably. “Did you threaten her somehow? Or just because I am a cheat? Not worth enough to be the son of the honorable Chas Dingle?“

Robert frowned. “What? You‘re not a cheat.“ 

“My boyfriend would probably disagree,“ he said bitterly. 

“Aaron,“ Robert said and it sounded urgent, as he took Aaron‘s hand in his own, “you don‘t have a boyfriend.“

The words sank in like a stone, hard and heavy, dragging his guts down. This couldn‘t be. There was this man _in his bed_ and he _touched_ Aaron. He tried to put the rising panic aside and started searching for memories, how they had met, when he had moved in, anything to prove that this guy was real. 

He came up blank. There was nothing. 

Not even in the memory fragments with Robert. His boyfriend never came up before. 

The only memory he had was the one from this morning, inside the house.

“No this can‘t be…“ he muttered weakly. 

Aaron jumped up and started pacing around, unable to sit still any longer. 

_How did I not notice that?_

Well, that was not completely true, because his body reacted towards the stranger, as if to warn him about the situation. But his mind was under the magic of the potion. 

His own mother drugged him, made him _share a bed_ with another man. Aaron felt sick suddenly. He bent over and dry heaved a few times, but his empty stomach only brought up bitter bile in his throat. 

Robert‘s hand started stroking over his back.

Guilt flushed hot through Aaron‘s body. Now he felt like he cheated on Robert with his ‘boyfriend’ and that thought was a thousand times worse than the other way round. 

“I‘m sorry, I‘m so sorry, Robert,“ he muttered. 

“It‘s alright, Aaron, you didn‘t know.“

“What if I-” Aaron took a deep breath and straightened up again, “what if I slept with him.“

His mouth felt numb, he couldn‘t even look into Robert‘s eyes. His mother drugged him and now he couldn‘t even remember if he had sexual intercourse. 

The trees swam away and tears burnt in his eyes. 

“You didn‘t,“ Robert tried to comfort him.

“You can‘t know that!“ it burst out of Aaron.

Robert grabbed his shoulders, turned Aaron so he could face him. “I know it,“ he insisted, “because our _bond_ is still there.“

Aaron had learned about _bonding_ in school. It was rare, only happening when two souls found true love in each other, then they started building a _bond,_ like an invisible connection. 

“We _bonded?“_ he whispered.

He always thought this was just cheesy romance stuff, that old people liked to tell. As far as Aaron was aware, not even one couple in the village was _bonded._

Robert chuckled. “I know you don‘t believe in _bonding,“_ he smiled fondly, “but it did happen between us. Can‘t you feel it?“

And actually yeah, Aaron felt it. Despite all the magic that had been thrown against it to break the connection. It was the _bond_ that had rebelled against the stranger in his bed. That tug that had pulled him here, the voice he had heard in the village - it had been the _bond,_ trying to bring him back to Robert. 

His one true love.

His soulmate.

Aaron's gaze slowly wandered up, passed that adorable little dimple on Robert‘s chin, his full and rosy lips, his cute nose - covered in hundreds of tiny freckles - to these blue-green eyes, oceans of pure love. 

“Yeah, I do,“ Aaron breathed out.

The look he got was so soft, so pure, so open, because Robert let him in, right into his soul. No way this was a bad man or a dangerous creature. 

“Why did she do it though? My mother?“ his voice trembled. “Shouldn‘t she be happy for us?“

Robert‘s face hardened. “She‘s afraid of her status,“ he sneered in disgust. “Because we‘d be more powerful than her.“

Aaron frowned. “Powerful?“ he echoed dumbly. 

“Our magic combined would take her status as the most powerful _special_ in the north _,_ because she‘s _unbonded._ “

Aaron took a step back. “But I don‘t have magic, I‘m _simple.“_

Robert‘s face changed again and this time it was pity and sadness. “Oh, Aaron.“ He sighed, raked his hand through his blond hair. “I tried for a month now to get through the barrier Chas created around the village to get back to you. And you just stepped through it like it is nothing!“

Robert gave him a small smile. “You‘re the most powerful _mage_ I‘ve seen besides your mother,“ he said with an audible pride. 

Wait. Wait what?! A month??

And also, a _mage?_

The world started spinning. It was too much to take in, too much in too short a time. His mother lying to him, Robert being his bondmate and now him being magic? That was… crazy. 

He looked down at his hands, and the Gods may help him, but there was truly a green glow, it was faint and Aaron had to squint his eyes to see it, but it was definitely there. 

He sobbed. 

The whole dimension of his mother’s betrayal slowly seeped into his brain and his whole world crumbled down. Nothing was true anymore. Everything had been a lie. 

“We discovered it when we first kissed,“ Robert went on, quietly, “you started glowing all over. You were shocked back then just like now,“ he laughed humorlessly, “We decided to keep our relationship a secret and to do research, to find out what kind of mage you are and why Chas kept this from you all your life.“

Aaron trembled and again it was Robert who held him. Without thinking he lunged forward and threw himself in Robert‘s embrace. Strong arms wrapped around him and Aaron balled his fists into the back of the shirt, clinging onto Robert like he was a lifeline. 

And this was how a touch should feel. Aaron buried his nose in the warm neck, marvelled at how smooth and soft the skin was against his scruff. He breathed Robert in and closed his eyes. For the first time on this crazy day, every little thing fell in place, right where it should be. 

Like coming home.

It was soothing, his heart rate slowed down until it was almost perfect in sync with Robert‘s heartbeat, that he could feel through their shirts. 

“I missed you so much.“ Robert‘s warm breath tickled in his hair and made him shiver. 

Aaron never felt like this.

_Or I can‘t remember feeling like that, more like._

He felt like crying at the thought about what his mother had taken from him and wondered if he would ever get his memory fully back. 

“I knew you‘d come back to me.“

Then Aaron noticed a low buzz, humming through his muscles, vibrating in his bones, radiating heat, especially from his hands.

He held them up and looked over Robert‘s shoulder. They were green enlightened, shining bright like a torch. And not only his hands.

Reluctantly he peeled himself out of the embrace and looked down at his body. Everything was glowing. 

Whatever spell it was that Chas had casted on him to suppress his magic, it lost its effect as soon as he was close to Robert. 

Close to his _bondmate._

Because the only way to break a spell - apart from magic - is true love, Aaron had learnt that way back in school. 

“I‘m _special,“_ he whispered, his voice full of wonder.

“To me you‘d be special even when you wouldn‘t shine like a Christmas Tree,“ Robert joked with a little smirk.

Aaron couldn‘t hold it back anymore - it didn‘t matter if he knew Robert only for 15 minutes or a year - he pulled him close and kissed him. 

As soon as his lips met Robert‘s, as soon as that wonderful mouth was pressed against his, as soon as Robert let out a quiet moan, a firework started off in his head. 

It all came back crushing down on him, how they first met, how they talked, secret glances and shy smiles, how they went for a walk, how they shared their first kiss in the barn, the excitement, the glow, the butterflies, how they went for secret dates when everybody was asleep, the sweet things Robert whispered into his ear. Holding hands, holding each other, running his green glowing fingers through golden hair. Kissing that mouth, nibbling that earlobes, sucking that neck. 

Robert pulled back and then thumbs gently caressed his cheeks. It felt wet, Aaron blinked his eyes open in confusion. He didn‘t even realise that he had cried. 

“I remember you,“ he breathed, “I remember everything.“

Robert smiled at him, happy and carefree and rested his forehead against Aaron. They intertwined their fingers and when Aaron glanced down, he saw that Robert‘s arm was glowing red and his own green. Where their bodies met, the colours melted into each other and created a bright and blinding yellow. 

“What now?“ he asked with a shaky voice, because that question was inevitable. 

He couldn‘t go back into the village, that was out of question. His old life was gone irrevocably. And as terrifying as that prospect was - it was still better than going back to a life without Robert. 

Aaron got a deep sigh in response and then Robert let go of him. He missed the contact immediately.

“I can’t go back to Emmerdale, even if I wanted, because of her spell,“ Robert said and started pacing, while he kept on rambling, “but I know your life is there, all your friends, your family. I won’t come between you and them, I would never force you to leave-”

Aaron just wanted to interrupt, tell him to shut up, when suddenly a deafening noise crashed through the forest. A bright light swallowed every colour, drowned the world in _white_ and Aaron pressed his hands helplessly on his face.

_Robert!_

He thought it was an explosion, waited for the shock wave to hit them, but it never came.

Instead he heard a strangled gurgle, a pained sound. Aaron opened his eyes, blinked. It stayed dark though, he was only able to see a few silhouettes. The light had temporarily blinded him. 

He stretched his arms out and stumbled in the direction where Robert had been.

“Robert?“ he asked shakily. “I can‘t see, where are you?“

“He won’t answer you, luv.“

Aaron froze. His body went cold, ice cold and numb. She was here. 

_Robert!_

He couldn't hold back the desperate whine. Robert might be hurt. Robert might be dead. Never in his life had Aaron experienced a panic like this. He felt like dying himself. And honestly, he‘d rather die than live in a world without him.

“What have you done?“ he shouted.

If he could only _see!_ Then he remembered the _bond,_ and he tried to focus on that… There was that low hum, that pull in his chest that guided him towards his _bondmate._ It was still connected and that could only mean, Robert was still alive. 

The relief almost knocked him off his feet, because his legs turned into jelly. 

Another strangled groan, desperate, full of pain. 

Robert.

“What have you done?!“ he roared so loud it hurt his throat.

“I am doing what‘s best for you, I always have!“ Chas screamed back.

“You tricked me!“ he spit out angrily.

Aaron frantically blinked as if that would help getting his eyesight back. The outlines got a bit clearer, there were tones of grey, but apart from that he still was blind. 

“If you hurt him-” Aaron‘s voice broke, “if he dies, I‘m going too, mother,“ he said, shaking with fear and anger. Tears burnt in his eyes. “I am not going to live without him, we‘re _bonded.“_

Her laughter echoed through the woods and slapped him in the face like whippings. Aaron winced and stumbled back.

“Your _bond_ is not complete, luv,“ she sneered.

He blushed at that. ‘To link the soul bond with your physical bond, sexual intercourse is required’, was the phrase he had to learn in school. 

“So if I would kill him..“ her voice was suddenly very close and her breath tickled the skin of his cheek, “and take you back with me…“ 

Aaron tried to hit her with his fist, just to stop her somehow, but his haymaker hit into nothing.

Instead, the next sentence came from afar again: “you would have it all forgotten by tomorrow and the bond will be broken forever.“

Robert whimpered, it sounded broken.

“I should have done that all along, but I underestimated how stubborn you are, Aaron,“ Chas continued, “should have known it though, you are a Dingle, after all.“

Aaron couldn‘t believe how casually she talked about killing someone. He wondered if she did it before and the answer was most likely a ‘yes’. He shivered. How was this the same woman who raised him, who was in a relationship with good-natured, clumsy Paddy for years? 

He had no time to think about this any longer, because she started talking in a foreign language and he knew that she was about to create a spell. 

_Robert!! No!!_

Sheer panic took over and before Aaron understood what was happening, magic flushed through his body like electricity.

 _“ne forte velint transcendere terminos ad vinculum animam meam de morte,“_ his mother whispered.

He didn‘t understand the language of magic, but he heard the words ‘terminos’ and ‘morte’.

“NO!“ 

Aaron shouted from the top of his lungs. Something inside him _exploded_ \- there was no other word for it - and radiated off him. Then the recoil hit him, made him fall back. 

Robert groaned somewhere on his left and then silence. 

Only Aaron‘s harsh pants filled the quiet. 

He swallowed hard, tasted adrenaline and got uncoordinated on his knees.

“Robert?“ he croaked out and started crawling around.

He could see a little bit better now, but it was still just outlines. Aaron mostly followed the bond, it guided him, until his hand touched a body.

“Rob!“

Robert was lying on his side and didn’t react. Aaron started stroking him, checking for injuries. 

_What if he needs first aid?_

He felt so helpless without his sight! Robert couldn‘t die on him, he couldn‘t! 

“Robert Jacob Sugden! C‘mon! Talk to me! Please? I can‘t see. I can‘t…“ his voice cracked and he sobbed.

His hands found Robert‘s face and he caressed the soft hair, the small ears, the sharp jawline. Aaron bent down and kissed him clumsily. Maybe true love‘s kiss wasn‘t only able to break spells but also had healing powers? 

“Come back to me,“ he whispered against the warm skin and placed little pecks on his cheekbones and his nose, where he knew the freckles were extra prominent on display. 

He felt the electricity buzzing through his body again. His _magic._

“Come back, Robert. I love you.“ 

The body under him actually moved slowly at that and then there was another groan. 

“Ow,“ Robert said a thin voice.

But he spoke! Aaron laughed through tears and kept stroking over Robert‘s body. His vision was still dark with a few shadows, but he could see - and feel for that matter - the green glow of his hands. It was like rubbing his magic all over his _bondmate._

_Help him._

“I love you too,“ Robert replied weakly, but it sounded a bit stronger already. “Don‘t stop this. Hmm, feels good.“

That little moan shot straight into Aaron‘s groin, but now was really not the time to get aroused.

“I have no clue what I‘m doing,“ Aaron admitted with another little laugh. “Is it helping?“

His hands kept moving over the body until the green light became yellow. A sign that Robert gained enough strength to perform _magic_ again. 

“Yes, thank you.“

Robert sat up and kissed him, then he whispered a spell against Aaron’s lips and before he could ask what he was doing, the colours of the forest were back! All the greens and browns. 

Aaron quickly looked around, scanned the area for his mother, but she was nowhere to be seen.

“Have I killed her?“ he whispered. 

He might have killed his own mother. No matter how evil that witch was - Chas was still his _mother._ Aaron wasn‘t sure if he could handle that guilt. 

“No,“ Robert took the burden off his shoulders, “I still feel her powers around this area. But you definitely hit her with a green lightning. I suppose she is back in the village, in the Woolpack, to heal herself.“

Aaron gave himself exactly one second to feel relieved, before his instincts kicked in: “We‘re not safe here.“

Robert‘s green eyes locked on his own and Aaron thanked the Gods and _magic_ and Robert for having his sight back, because looking into these green mirrors of Robert‘s soul overwhelmed him with love and happiness. 

“Would you come with me?“ 

“Anywhere,“ Aaron whispered and bit his lip, feeling shy suddenly. 

Robert‘s gaze never left his, as he spoke some words in the ancient language and instead of the mossy ground in the forest, Aaron felt something hard under his knees now. When he looked around, they were in a house, on the wooden floor. 

“This is where I lived for the past month. I covered our tracks with the spell, so we should be safe, at least for a while,“ Robert explained. 

Aaron stood up and took an interested look around at what he supposed was now his home as well. The cottage was tiny, but it was homey. Perfect for them. 

“How are you?“ he asked Robert.

“Better. Your magic helped a lot.“

Aaron looked down on his hands, the glow was gone, but he could still feel it thrumming under his skin. He was _special._ The thought was still weird. 

“I have no idea how to control it, all I did was just instinct,“ he sighed. 

“That‘s a start,“ Robert kissed him softly, “we‘ll figure it out.“

Aaron kissed back and now that they weren‘t in danger anymore and all his memories and feelings were fully back, he gave in to the feeling. 

He wrapped his arms around Robert and pulled him close. 

A big and strong, but still tender hand gently touched his jaw, cradled his beard with a featherlight thumb move, the other hand stroked up and down on his back. 

Aaron opened his lips, invited the tongue in and Robert complied immediately. He loved to get kissed like that, loved to taste Robert like that. 

He felt his blood rushing down, making him hard, pressing against Robert‘s own arousal. 

Aaron suddenly felt blunt enough to let his hands wander down and down, down until they reached that perfect arse. It felt amazing under his palms and he gave a good squeeze. 

Robert moaned softly into his mouth and Aaron pulled back, gasping for air. 

“I want to complete our _bond,“_ he whispered with quickly heating cheeks.

Robert smirked at him. “Do you want me to show you my wand?“ His gaze was sparkling.

Aaron rolled his eyes, but had to laugh. Of course Robert would make a bad joke now.

“Just take me to bed, before I change my mind,“ he smiled.

The next second they were lying on a soft mattress and smooth sheets. Robert wiggled his eyebrows. 

“Magic, huh? Comes in handy sometimes,“ he grinned, carefree. 

Aaron‘s heart swelled, got impossibly bigger and tried to burst his chest. He loved this man so much it hurt. Being lost for words, he simply took those lush lips again.

They barely stopped kissing while they undressed each other, only to pull their shirts off. Robert was perfect in every way, how his body was built, how the skin felt under Aaron‘s hand, how he kissed him just like he needed it. 

“Tell me if this hurts,“ Robert mumbled against his neck, before his oil coated fingers started opening Aaron up.

It was the first time for both of them, but there was no room for being nervous when Aaron looked up in his favourite face and got lost in blue-green eyes. He didn’t feel pain, just the odd sensation of being intruded and then Robert‘s finger touched something inside that caused him to arch off the bed. 

There were no words for it, so Aaron closed his eyes and just went with it, let Robert take over his body, let lust take over his body. He felt his _magic_ vibrating inside him, buzzing more and more with every stroke of that sweet spot inside him, taking him higher and higher to new levels of pleasure. 

His body was ready, more than ready, when Robert finally pushed in. Red and green sparks were flying between them - their bodies, their souls, their magic melted together, became one. 

Emotions doubled, feelings intensified.

He could sense Robert. 

And Robert loved him so much, he had waited every day for Aaron to find him, had never lost hope and faith in his soulmate. Robert would have waited forever if necessary. 

Aaron blinked and looked up, full of wonder and Robert looked down, his eyes growing bigger. He felt it too, that he could sense Aaron through the _bond._

“I love you.“

“I love you.“

Robert rocked into him and Aaron desperately held onto his shoulders. His skin tingled and heated up, his green glow and Robert‘s red absorbed each other, transformed into an intense yellow. 

He closed his eyes again as he felt that his body couldn‘t take any more.

“Rob!“

Robert let out a harsh grunt above him and Aaron just _exploded,_ almost like he had done earlier in the woods. 

A loud bang reached his ears, something cracked and suddenly they both kinda fell, because the bed tilted to one side.

They collapsed on the floor, Robert still buried in him.

“Ouch,“ he groaned and opened his eyes.

The bedroom was a complete mess. The drawer was lying on the side, clothes were spread all over the floor, the bed was broken in two, the left side of the mattress was hanging on the floor. 

They started laughing at the same, like giddy teenagers. 

Their _bond_ was completed and whatever he had read about the connection in school books, didn‘t do the real thing any justice. It was a feeling unlike any other, a true miracle beyond words. 

Robert had said they would be more powerful than his mother now. She couldn‘t harm them anymore. Nobody could ever harm them anymore, although he still had to learn how to control his powers.

They were _special,_ in every sense of the word and became the most powerful couple not only in North England, but in the whole northern hemisphere.

Not every fairy tale starts with ‘once upon a time’ - like this, by the way - but they always end with a happy ever after. 

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a comment if you like, I‘d love to know what you‘re thinking! ❤️


End file.
